Friday 15th November
Read 2 Samuel 15:19-22
“The king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.’
21 But Ittai replied to the king, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.’
22 David said to Ittai, ‘Go ahead, march on.’ So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.” (NIVUK)
David is seeking to be kind. Why should the Gittites be exiled twice over? It is a true mark of his graciousness that he would encourage those who follow him to seek security and safety at the expense of loyalty. But Ittai’s words are striking. He has come to trust in Yahweh and Yahweh’s king for good or ill. David himself knows that he is no longer king (v19) but for Ittai there is no substitute. He will choose suffering and death over safety and security. He is the very model of a faithful disciple.
For those with ears to hear, I suspect the author expects us to draw comparisons with David’s forebears…
“Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me…‘Look,’ said Naomi, ‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.’
16 But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.’ 18 When Naomi realised that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.” (Ruth 1:8, 15-18) (NIVUK)
Can you see all the same themes recurring? What do you think it all means?
